Birds of Paradise

Birds of Paradise, also known as Crane flowers are one of the most beautiful Exotic Flowers. Birds of Paradise are native to South Africa. Birds of Paradise bloom from September through May.

The flowers of the Birds of Paradise resemble a brightly colored bird in flight and so the name Birds of Paradise.

Kingdom

Plantae

Division

Magnoliophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Zingiberales

Family

Strelitziaceae

Genus

Strelitzia

The unusually beautiful shape and brilliant colors of Birds of Paradise have made these flowers not just a designer's favorite, but also a popular symbol of paradise.

The popular Birds-of-Paradise plant bears a unique flower that resembles a brightly colored bird in flight, giving it the common name, Bird of Paradise. The Birds-of-Paradise flowers make the plant an exceptionally attractive landscape plant.

The Birds of Paradise foliage resembles small banana leaves with long petioles. Leaves on the Birds of Paradise plant are arranged strictly in two ranks to form a fan-like crown of evergreen foliage, thick, waxy, and glossy green, making it a very attractive ornamental.

Leaf blades are 6 inches wide and 18 inches long. The Birds of Paradise plant usually reaches a height of 4 feet. Birds of Paradise flowers are produced in a horizontal inflorescence emerging from a stout spathe.

Birds of Paradise flower inflorescence is borne atop long scapes, or pedicels, that grow to 5 feet or more in height. The flower on the Birds of Paradise plant is the most unusual part.

A series of highly colored bracts, or modified leaves, are formed into green, red, and or purplish canoe-like structures. Bracts vary between 4-8 inches long, depending upon the age and size of the Birds of Paradise plant.

Each Birds of Paradise flower is made up of three upright orange sepals and three highly modified vivid blue petals. Two of the petals are joined together in a structure resembling an arrowhead with the third petal forming a nectary at the base of the flower.

Each bract contains 2 or more protruding Birds of Paradise florets of bright yellow or orange elongated petals and a bright blue tongue. The female part of the Birds of Paradise flower is the long extension of the blue tongue, which is extended well away from the stamens.

Pollination in Birds of Paradise

When a pollinator, usually a sunbird, lands on the arrowhead in search of nectar, the anthers are levered clear of the Birds of Paradise flower and deposit pollen on the breast of the bird. When the bird flies to another plant, this pollen is transferred to the stigma of the new flower.

Then the resulting fruit is a leathery capsule containing numerous small seeds, each with an orange aril (an outgrowth from the seed similar to the red sheath around yew seeds) and an oil body, possibly to attract birds.